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Rolla Peace News September 7, 2021 |
Dear Friends:Editor's note: Please consider writing for our newsletter. It's always very exciting to be able to publish submissions from our readers.In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Afghanistan: Now Comes the Hard Part b) Militarism: A Monumental Failure c) Climate-Induced Weather Disasters on the Rise d) Peace is a Prerequisite for Progress 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until Peace is established). Please join us this Thursday in saying NO MORE WAR AGAINST AFGHANISTAN or any other country. The temperature is predicted to be around 80. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. Note 1: Since there are so few of us, generally 2 or 3, no need to cancel; but let's maintain social distancing. Note 2: In case of inclement weather, vigils may be canceled or terminated early. 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Afghanistan: Now Comes the Hard Part b) Militarism: A Monumental Failure c) Climate-Induced Weather Disasters on the Rise d) Peace is a Prerequisite for Progress Afghanistan: Now Comes the Hard Part The Taliban has vanquished the last holdouts of the old regime in the Panjshir Valley. Now comes the hard part: building a new society on the ashes of the old. Is the Taliban up to the task? InshaAllah, (if God wills it) they will succeed. They have already done what few have thought possible: defeating the entire world, both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. With God, all things are possible. InshaAllah, they will prove as strong at nation-building as they are on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. But what about women? you may ask. Under the Taliban, classes will be segregated with a curtain between the men's and women's sections. How cruel! How terrible! Well, actually, I may have gotten better grades in school if I had spent more time listening to the teacher and less looking at the girls and thinking thoughts I'm not going to write in this newsletter. And high school classes like gym, health and home-making — totally segregated — different times, different places — not even a curtain. And demonstrations? Well, we could bring all the female Afghan demonstrators to the United States. They could demonstrate in Florida where they might get run over (legally) by a male-supremacist in a pickup truck (unless, of course, they were demonstrating against Cuba). Or they could demonstrate against polluting pipeline projects in Minnesota where they could get shot with rubber bullets, tear gassed and arrested for protesting. Well, as George W. Bush once said: “They hate our freedoms.” Militarism: A Monumental Failure If nothing else, our defeat in Afghanistan should show us the folly of expecting militarism to prevail in the 21st Century. Unfortunately, we seem not to have learned this lesson. In spite of having squandered $21 Trillion on militarism over the past 20 years; congress has doubled down and appears ready to put an extra $37.5 Billion into our already bloated military budget. Perhaps we would see better results if we put this money into nation-building at home, instead of tearing down other nations half-way around the world, as well as tearing down our own nation. Climate-Induced Weather Disasters on the Rise And indeed, unless we get serious about reversing global warming; there won't be much left to save. While we have been busy militarizing our country, extreme weather events like Hurricane Ida and the intense drought, heat and fires in the western United States are now five times more likely than they were 50 years ago. Well, maybe we could bomb a fire or shoot down a hurricane. Peace is a Prerequisite for Progress And frankly, friends, I don't see how we will make any progress at all until we get over our addiction to War. Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column).Wage peace, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |